Three days in DC

Waiting to meet my sister in the Willard Hotel; afterwards there is a dinner for school heads which honors those with 20 years of service ... that's me!

NCS ski hill is open!

Earliest start to the season that anyone can remember. In a good year the rope tow is running for a week in December but skiing our hill in November is unreal.  The 1957 ford engine had to have a few parts rebuilt during the off season, but it was really purring yesterday.

•  On a related note Whiteface is going full-bore and the entire Olympic trail system is rolled and tracked.  Switching subjects again, a couple of days ago on an easy run, I ran into some climbers coming off the north-side of Pitchoff who said the ice was pretty darn good. 

The snow continues ...

Another 5-6 inches.

Another heavy wet snow ...

What an amazing November for skiers! I was out at 6:30am and back by 7:15. Today Stash broke trail for me. Closing in on almost 20 days on snow this season.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... bill koch

In 1976 Bill Koch was the surprise winner of America's first ever Olympic medal in the 30k cross country ski event. During his career he was known for many things: introducing skating on the World Cup scene and revolutionizing the sport, winning the first World Cup in 1982, winning a bronze medal at the 1982 World Championships, and carrying the American flag at the opening ceremony at the 1992 Olympics.

Less well known is the day in March 1981 when he went out to Marlboro Pond in Vermont, on a carefully groomed and measured loop with two USSA representatives as witnesses to break the 30K and 50k nordic world records, and all the running records from 800 meters to a marathon! His mile time was 3:20, and his 50k time was 1:59:47 which works out to 3:51 for each of the 31+ miles. (As an aside, his vision and way he went about all this, sort of makes the Nike 2-hour project look a bit overblown!)

Street and Nye on a sunny post-Thanksgiving morning

The continuing issues about uphilling at ski areas

Aside from the obvious changes in tone and number of bulletin points, the word on the street is they are going to crack down.  No doubt it will never be like Europe is, but how about getting to what Aspen does ... raise the season price a bit, cordon off a 10-15 foot wide path that can be used any time the mountain is open for snowshoeing or an uphill ski. 

Faithful training partner ... Stash

It was -5 degrees, but no matter what the weather Stash is ready for a ski, hike, or mountain run.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... first ascent of west rib on denali

On my first trip to Denali, after Dandy Don balked at the Cassin Ridge, we headed up this terrific route and shortly thereafter headed back down again, after our stove exploded and burned up our tent, and almost fried Mike Brochu. (In this pre-internet day we did not know about the traverse over to the West Buttress.)

https://americanalpineclub.org/library-blog/2018/10/9/1959-mt-mckinley-west-rib-first-ascent?utm_source=AAC+Master+Subscriber+List&utm_campaign=d45dfd9b86-Clubhouse_November18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0b83d34132-d45dfd9b86-282868093&mc_cid=d45dfd9b86&mc_eid=18b41ca517

Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday morning was my 12th day on snow, fantastic conditions. This morning I will really have to bundle up.

I hope your Thanksgiving is full of family and friends ... be sure to get off the couch and do something active.

Coldest day thus far ...

Happy Thanksgiving the thermometer at our farm is reading -5 degrees.

“Motivational” mountaineering posters

More CBD info

https://trainright.com/cbd-for-athletes-cannabidiol/

Doesn’t get much better than this in mid-November

50 kilometers tracked for classic and packed for skating!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... john muir

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature May heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike."

Found while browsing through this book, thinking about adding a winter ski trip to Yosemite to my bucket list ... I have never been ... only to Tioga Pass Resort.

WW II and the Heroes Of Telemark

A short essay below which summarizes this amazing story.  If you get interested in the subject turn to: The Winter Fortress, The Real Heroes Of Telemark, or Skis Against The Atom, all available from Amazon. You could also watch the 1965 movie starring Kirk Douglas, The Heroes Of Telemark.  A truly amazing story. 

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2018/11/the-telemark-skiers-who-saved-the-world/

Looking like winter at the Fossil Cabin

Pretty amazing ski conditions for November 16.

Working in a mountain town down under

Quite hilarious cartoons and captions, about working in a mountain town in Australia during the winter.

http://www.mountainwatch.com/Snow-news/working-in-the-snow-its-a-glamorous-life/

Looking and feeling like Winter

At the farm our thermometer reads zero degrees.  Algonquin, off in the distance almost looks skiable. Broke a cable last night on my three decade old Riva Ridge bindings, which are mounted on my four decade old Europa skis.  Thankfully, I was only two kilometers from the house.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: jackrabbit johannsen

Herman-Smith Johannsen lived for 112 years and passed away on January 5, 1987. He had, perhaps, the largest impact on bringing skiing and a nordic ski culture to Lake Placid.

At the age of 56 in 1932 when Lake Placid hosted the Olympics he led some of the best skiers in the world on a "little" one-dat tour from the Adirondack Loj, through Indian Pass, to Tahawus, back to Lake Colden, up and over Marcy, and back to the Adirondack Loj. At 72 in one of the very first Stowe Derby races he finished third.

In the late 1970s, during the post race ceremony of the Canadian Ski Marathon, at the age of 100, he gave out some of the awards for the gold medal "coureur de bois,"
waving his cane and saying "skiing is a life-long sport." Then again, at the age of 105, I remember that he brought a huge crowd to their feet when he was introduced at the Birkebeiner in Wisconsin.

What a seminal figure in the history of hiking and skiing in the East!

Another good day skiing the toll road

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... fred harris

I pulled out this old - but definitive - history book on the mountain sports of the Northeast.  I have been dipping into the chapters on the growth of ski mountaineering over the past 120+ years. I had forgotten the entire snowshoe v. skiing debate, which of course then reminded me of my first trip to the south side of Denali ... two of us on skis and two on snowshoes ... a disaster for many reasons, including the obvious mismatch in speed of ascent and descent.  

Fred Harris was the student who played the pivotal role in founding the Dartmouth Outdoor Club (1910) and Dartmouth Winter Carnival (1911) ...

"If snowshoeing be the prose, then skiing is the poetry of winter sports."

Round and round on the mini loop

The St. Lawrence University Nordic Team came down to the Olympic Trails for a 2.5 hour workout. Of course, except for the small man-made loop, options were sparse. Nevertheless, Lucy's roommate Erin - arms raised high with a loud yahoo - speaks for all skiers when they get back on snow!

Grim NOAA news for skiers

I will keep my fingers crossed that the Adirondack ice climbing is still decent, however there is enough snow making, that at least we will be able to ski somewhere. 

Mohonk Mountain House

For the past twenty years I have had the luxury of a yearly stay at this wonderful and fashionable hotel on a 2000 acre nature preserve in the Shawangunks. Last night Selden and I enjoyed, what I am sure, will be our last stay at this charming, old world resort. Mohonk is the site for the yearly NYSAIS head of school retreat ... they always have fabulous speakers. Obviously, there are many things I will miss about being headmaster, but a yearly stay at Mohonk, and a yearly ski reunion at Alta will be near the top of the list.

Of course, the gunks are where I learned to rock climb. In my retirement I envision spending a week in the spring and fall, camping out, running the trails in the morning, and bouldering in the afternoon. So, You old fossils get ready to dig your gear out for some easy climbs ... Northern Pillar and Horseman here we come.

I took these pictures this morning on a delightful run, over and around Eagle Hill Cliff.

More laps on man-made snow

The nordic ski season has started

A humble beginning, with 14 laps yielding a 5.5k workout.  However it was great to get the skate skis out and practice some V1, V2, and free skate technique. Mount Van Hoevenberg is committed to keeping, at least, this mini-loop open after the para-Olympic team departs. Moreover, we have snow coming at the end of the week, compliments of Mother Nature.

Sunset over Street and Nye

Great day on the Toll Road

It was skiable from the bottom, with an under layer of ice covered by a dusting of snow. I had AT gear and so was not worried about the descent, back in my youth I suspect I would have skated up on nordic racing gear, and managed the descent with stem christies. Needless to say, my dog Stash loved it.

Snell’s Sports

Founded in 1934, Snell Sports may be the best alpine mountaineering shop in the world.  You could show up, fresh from the Geneva airport in your shorts and sandals, and with one stop shopping, you could rent everything you need to climb the Walker Spur, or do the Haute Route. Over the years, the Snell family became very friendly with the hard-core Brits (Douglas Haston, Don Whillans, Chris Bonnington, Joe Brown, Doug Scott) of the late 1950s and 1960s.  Because of this, Snell’s was one of the few places that English speaking dirtbags would not rip off.  The family also owned a plot of land that dirt bag mountaineers - including me - used to squat on - before and after their climbs (see below). Every so often the gendarmes would come through and boot everyone out. 

So, English speaking alpinist will always have a warm spot in their heart for Cham and Snell's.

Update on the Whiteface Toll Road

My two take-always are: get up early after an evening snowfall before they plow, and keep your fingers crossed that they do not plow on the weekends. Of course, having skied the toll road once this past October, I wonder why the entire road needs to be plowed?  Wouldn't one lane be enough to transport personnel and material?

Manhattan’s best book stores

I was in the Big Apple for just 24 hours. During that time I had five what I call, "meet-greet-and eat" events with individual alumni or trustees. I walked all over the city from 12th to 71st Street. Just by chance three of these meetings were near three iconic books stores. Shakespeare and Co, Argosy, and Strand Books, which I closed down at 10:30 pm ... a delightful bonus on a long work day.

How can a bibliophile not enjoy, "18 miles of books," as Strand describes itself.